Connect with us

WeatherTech Championship

Garcia Gives Corvette First GTLM Pole of Season at CTMP

Antonio Garcia grabs first GTLM pole of season for Corvette at CTMP…

Photo: Vincent Wouters

Photo: Vincent Wouters

Antonio Garcia gave the Corvette C7.R its first GT Le Mans class pole of the season ahead of tomorrow’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Following a 10kg weight break and 0.4 mm larger air restrictor, the Corvettes already showed good pace in practice and carried it over into qualifying for the seventh round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Garcia led most of the session in the No. 3 Corvette and was only briefly outpaced by his teammate Oliver Gavin in the sister No. 4 car and Dirk Mueller in the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.

The Spaniard’s 1:15.198 lap was a mere 0.038 seconds faster than Mueller’s Ford, while Watkins Glen pole-sitter Richard Westbrook put in a late flyer which moved him up to third thanks to a fastest third sector time.

This meant the No. 100 BMW Team RLL M6 GTLM of Lucas Luhr lost P3 in the end, with the sister No. 25 car lining up in fifth in class for tomorrow’s race.

Gavin only managed the sixth fastest time in the No. 4 Corvette, while initial pace-setter Giancarlo Fisichella piloted the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE to P7, ahead of both Porsches that continue to struggle for speed.

Alex Riberas dominated qualifying in GT Daytona, easily breaking the qualifying record time, having posted a 1:18.245 in the No. 23 The Heart of Racing/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R he shares with Mario Farnbacher.

Andrew Davis came up 0.337 seconds short to make it two poles in a row for Stevenson Motorsports in the No. 6 Audi R8 LMS, while the sister No. 9 entry of Matt Bell ending up in sixth in class.

Spencer Pumpelly’s No. 16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 and Bret Curtis’ No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 made it four manufacturers in the top-four.

The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix is set for Sunday at 11 a.m. ET with live coverage on FOX Sports 1.

RESULTS: Qualifying

Vincent Wouters (@VinceWouters) is a Belgium-based sports car racing reporter, providing coverage primarily of the Blancpain GT Series.

12 Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in WeatherTech Championship